


Why they followed

by mqlecshipper



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: First Kinslaying (Tolkien), Guilt, Oath of Fëanor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:01:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22879132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mqlecshipper/pseuds/mqlecshipper
Summary: “Thus spoke Maedhros and Maglor and Celegorm, Curufin and Caranthir, Amrod and Amras, princes of the Noldor; and many quailed to hear the dread words. For so sworn, good or evil, an oath may not be broken, and it shall pursue oathkeeper and oathbreaker to the world's end.” - The SilmarillionWhy did the sons of Feanor follow their father in all the actions he took in his madness? Why did none of them disobey him?Guilt
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Why they followed

It was supposed to have been one afternoon. Only one afternoon while their father was away, because as much as they all wanted to deny it, the sons of Feanor missed the liveliness of the city. Their life in this exile was monotonous, and they all wished for a bit of a festival for themselves too. 

One night. One night, the first actually, when they got too careless, having fun. That night when _everything_ went wrong. The world became dark, a darkness that stared in the absence of light, seeping fear into everything and everyone. 

King Finwë had died. He had been a king, before their grandfather. Loved by people from places far and wide, the leader of the mighty Noldor. He had been their father's most precious jewel, which they had all failed to protect. Every single one of them had failed. Failed as a son, if not as a subject to the king. 

The darkness was maybe a blessing to those helpless princes in shock. No one quite understood how they would bear it all in light. Their hands shook. 

Of course, their enemy was Melkor. He was a Vala, and they would have all failed even if they had countered him when he lunged for the silmarils. The outcome wouldn’t have been different, but that did not change the fact that none of them had done anything to stop it. 

It was all of them who had failed. 

**********

The torches seemed like little eyes that lit the world, focused on their father. The entire crowd was a sea of flames, burning and moving all in unison. 

There, Feanor swore his doom. His sons followed. 

They swore on the name of Iluvatar, on the name that they wouldn’t break. The seven Feanorians knew that their oath would kill them all. But they had no choice. 

Feanor’s eyes burned red, reflecting the glare of the torches surrounding him. His words rang mighty, filled with sorrow and desire and betrayal. He himself became the flames, burning brightly to consume everything around him. 

Feanor cursed all the Valar, mocked them. And the Feanorians all followed, because they couldn't disobey the wishes of the person they had all failed. 

None of them looked back.

**********

The blades shone in their hands. Their swords whirred and flew around, covered by red blood. They were killing. They weren’t killing animals on a hunt. No, they were killing fellow elves. 

It was terrifying, how surprisingly easy it became, when they got their blood to be in the thrill of the hunt. Before they knew it, countless bodies lay there, dead. And it was them who had done it. 

The night was so calm, the water so smooth, after all that had happened. It was beautiful, like a scene that would be on a tapestry--white ships laid out against the dark water, reflecting distorted shapes of the world. A world that would forever be broken to the Feanorians. 

It was their father who had ordered them to kill, but it was them who had not stopped any of it. Because they _couldn’t_ have stopped any of it. 

It had all been their fault. That's why they couldn't stop. 

**********

It was always bothered me a little how no Feanorian disobeyed their father throughout the Silmarillion. They swore an oath that would claim their lives (and they knew they couldn't go back on their words because they swore on Iluvatar who didn't exist in that world). I mean maybe some of them would have done it but unanimously? Not likely.

Mind you, three out of the seven sons of Feanor were married. They all left their wives behind to follow their father. Yes, Tolkien glazed over it without giving it much attention, but the fact that all three of them were willing to leave their spouses behind for their father? Weird

And then happened the first kinslaying in Alqualondë and all of the Feanorians did the killing. Finwe had been the first elf to be murdered in the blessed realm. None of the sons of Feanor had ever killed an elf, much less spilled the blood of one. But on the order of his father, they all covered their hands with it with no resistance whatsoever. 

Then later on in the story, they beg for forgiveness, work with other elves, raise orphaned twins, etc. etc. which seems pretty contrary to their actions in the beginning of the Silmarillion. 

Sure, they might have done it all for the love or the fear they had for their father, which makes sense when you think about why they followed him. But killing? Killing fellow elves for the love they had of their father? Swearing an oath that would follow them for the rest of their lives for the love of their father? Getting divorced with their wives to follow their father because they loved him so much?

Why couldn't any of the Feanorians disobey Feanor?

It was guilt. There probably were other reasons, but the main one was guilt. 

The seven sons of Feanor had all been in Formenos with Feanor during his exile. They had still been there when Feanor was called to the Vala, on the day that Morgoth attacked. They had not done anything while Finwe faced off Morgoth alone (if they had attacked Morgoth back, they would all be dead). 

Feanor basically became a madman after that incident, and it was all of them who had failed as a son and as a subject to their king. So they followed with obedience on whatever Feanor did, because they couldn't have been happy with their wives and stayed back when it was their fault that their father had gone insane. 

Finwe's death marked the beginning of the tragedy for the house of Feanor: Finwe's death, the beginning of Feanor's evil deeds (because surely, him having issues with Fingolfin could be forgiven. The kinslaying at Alqualondë couldn't), the swearing of the cursed oath, and the deeds caused by it. Finwe's death wasn't just a death, it was the beginning of the Noldolantë. 

This is why Celebrimbor wasn't affected by the oath nor the Silmarils. He hadn't been there at Formenos when Finwe had died, so he didn't share the same level of guilt as his father and his uncles. This is why he could be an outsider to all the evil acts that the Feanorians made throughout the Silmarillion. However, he couldn't deny his bloodline, and as his grandfather had died in a past so far ago fighting against Morgoth, Celebrimbor also died alone, fighting against Sauron in Eregion. (Ironically, they were both protecting three jewels when they died. Finwe with the three Silmarils, and Celebrimbor with his three rings).

The tragedy of the house of Feanor that had begun with Finwe's death reached its end with a recreation of it through his grandson. 

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah so this had always bothered me and my brain was searching for answers when I came up with this. Hope you enjoyed reading!


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